جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه "test design" در نشریات گروه "ادبیات و زبان ها"

This study explored possible reasons why IELTS candidates usually score low in writing by investigating the effects of two different test designs and scoring criteria on Iranian IELTS candidates’ obtained grades in IELTS and World Englishes (WEs) essay writing tests. To this end, first, a WEs essay writing test was preliminarily designed. Then, 17 Iranian IELTS candidates wrote two essays on the same topic, one under the IELTS test condition and one under the WEs test condition. Each of the 34 obtained essays was scored six times, three times based on IELTS scoring criteria, each time by a different rater, and then, three times based on WEs scoring criteria. The results of repeated-measures ANOVA showed that test design and scoring criteria had significant effects on essay grades. The study concludes that some of the reasons why IELTS candidates usually score low in writing may be rooted in the test design and scoring criteria of the IELTS essay writing test, not necessarily in IELTS candidates’ weaknesses in writing. The implications of the study focus on the importance and relevance of the results to IELTS candidates, international students, and the future of assessing writing in World Englishes contexts.

Glenn Fulcher is the Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Assessment in the English Department at the University of Leicester, UK. He got his PhD in Applied Linguistics and Language Testing from Lancaster University (1993) and his MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham (1987). Professor Fulcher has been the editor of Sage's Language Testing (2006-2015) and an influential member of the Executive Board of The International Language Testing Association (ILTA) for many years. He has extensive experience and expertise in the philosophy of assessment, test design, the development of data-based rating scales as well as teaching language assessment. Professor Fulcher's book Language Testing and Assessment co-authored by Davidson (2007) has been the main resource for the ELT masters' courses in language testing in Iran for many years. Among his other publications are Re-examining Language Testing: A Philosophical and Social Inquiry (2015, the winner of the 2016 SAGE/LTA Book Award), The Rutledge Handbook of Language Testing (2012), Practical Language Testing (2010), Testing Second Language Speaking (2003) , and Writing in the English Language Classroom (1997). In an online interview, Professor Glenn Fulcher has joined Dr. Bahram Behin who is a zealous adherent of Fulcher's philosophy of assessment and has presented language testing courses based on his books.